Christmas seems to come faster every year even though the year is just as long as it has always been. It just seems that we are so much busier with each passing year struggling to make money to give our families the best life we can. That's why Christmas is such a great time of year, because we can forget about the gossiping coworker that always talks about us behind our backs, the continuously dissatisfied boss and the other million things that irritate us throughout the year.

Of course, as things are never perfect Christmas does require a little effort, at least in setting up the decorations and it seems that Christmas lights are often the bane of our existence. Especially if you are like most people on this planet and never bother to organize those Christmas lights at the end of the season. The result is that the following year you are struggling to straighten out the knotted, tangled mass of wires and bulbs that has the audacity to call itself a set of Christmas lights. We know, it's the lights' fault, they tangled themselves while you weren't looking.

As you can probably imagine, the first tip begins either very early or very late, depending on how you look at it, and that is to store the Christmas lights in a way that is nice and organized where you can just grab them next year, unwind, pop them on the tree and you are done in minutes. Yes, it's possible, we promise. We have become the society of ingenious organization and storage methods so there is little point of going through what you need to store your lights. Just walk into a store and you will find a gazillion ideas, after all storage and organization is a massive industry.

Next, you really have to check the lights before you even considering hanging them on your tree to make sure everything is working. This is even more valid for old Christmas lights because one bulb that is bust will stop the whole strand working. By the way, what exactly are you waiting for to move into the 21^st century? Go and buy a set of LED Christmas lights now or do you enjoy torturing yourself every year when a bulb dies?

Have you got your tree up yet? No? Then put it up and make sure that it's close enough to a socket or at least have an extension cord handy. You wouldn't want to try to pull a fully loaded tree closer to an electricity source because your Christmas lights are 2 inches too short. Of course, the lights are too short, it has absolutely nothing to do with your master planning skills.

Great, now it's time to decorate the tree. Don't start hanging all the bits, baubles, tinsel and other decorations before you put the lights up. Yes, you have to put your Christmas lights up first because it will be easier to hide the plug as well as setting the lights up for the best effect. Remember that lights can sit farther back on the branches for great effect and trying to get them there while pushing through a ton of other ornaments can be classified as cruel and unusual punishment.

Once your Christmas lights are up you can go ahead and throw everything else on the tree to create a beautiful centerpiece. Remember that Christmas is all about having fun and enjoying yourself so do try and relax while you are putting up your tree. We guarantee you will still have a great Christmas even if you have two red glass balls one next to the other.